Broccoli and Chickpea Salad with a Lemon and Mustard Dressing

I love a good salad, and was searching for something healthy and delicious to take to the office for the next few days when I came across this little gem of a recipe from Daily Rebecca, which I used as a basis for my version of a Broccoli and Chickpea Salad.

This recipe is quite versatile – try swapping out the chickpeas for quinoa, or cous cous if you can eat it. I made a bigger quantity than the original because a) my partner and I are both piglets and b) I intentionally made enough to have leftovers for packed lunch the next day. I adjusted the ratio of dressing ingredients to suit our tastes, and the result was pretty much perfect – the lemon and honey are sweet enough to offset the earthy flavour of the chickpeas, and there is a little kick from the mustard and raw garlic that doesn’t totally overpower the rest of the dish. I think that next time I’ll make double the dressing and keep the rest in the fridge for other salads during the week.

You can’t help but feel energised after this wholesome Broccoli and Chickpea Salad. It gives a great kick of summer flavours, and crunch from the broccoli and pine nuts gives it a great texture. The dish is robust enough to save in the fridge for a few days, and to travel to work or school as a packup, without wilting or losing flavour.

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The Broccoli and Chickpea Salad with a Lemon and Mustard Dressing recipe:

Chop the broccoli into florets, place into a colander and cover with tinfoil. Bring a pan of water to the boil, place the colander over it and steam the broccoli for around 8 minutes (slightly less time if the florets are cut finely). If you own a fancy steamer^, like an adult, do feel free to use that instead of faffing about with colanders and tinfoil. When the broccoli is just cooked (it should have still have a bit of bite to it), remove from the heat and dowse in cold water to halt the cooking process.

Toast the pine nuts in a light, nonstick frying pan over a high heat until they begin to brown. This will only take a few minutes (and they will then proceed from golden-brown to black very rapidly), so keep a close eye on the nuts until they are done.

Finely slice the spring onions and parsley, then drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place all the salad ingredients into a big bowl, and combine.

For the dressing: chop the garlic very finely and zest and juice the lemon. Put the garlic, lemon zest and juice, mustard and honey into an old (clean!) jam jar and shake well (for around 30 seconds). Add half of the olive oil and shake again, before adding the remainder and giving it a last shake.

Pour the dressing over the rest of the salad, mix again, and serve in the centre of the picnic table, or divide between four containers for packups, garnishing with a few more leaves of parsley.

EatsLeeds http://eatsleeds.co.uk/

This Broccoli and Chickpea Salad will last in the fridge for up to three days, and the dressing will last for a few weeks, so make plenty to drizzle over other salads.

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